Apparatus for and method of impregnating felt



June 15 192s. 1,588,748 7 H. C. KOCH APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF IIIPREGNATING FELT F11 8 Feb. 7. 1925 WII 1 l l Hmi' ,illl

atented .lune l5, 1926.

sTATEs HENRY C. KOCH, 01' CHICAGO, rumors APPARATUS .303. AND m9!) or mnnormrme LT.

application filed Eebruzry 7, 1825. Serial 2%. area.

and will our kly and thoroughly saturate or impregnate the felt or other fabric with asphalt or other waterproofing substance with which it is to be combined. it mefhod commonly employed heretofore was to pass a to strip of the felt alternately over and under a considerable number of rollers which would cause the felt to pass alternately into and out of a bath or the liquid, but this method is slow and the apparatus occupies to a large space in order to rovide proper room for the battery of r0 ers. My purpose is to forcibly combine the liquid with the fabric, especially by means of a vacuum. in a copending application field January 20 7th, 1925, Serial No. 982, l have shown up:

w paratus for the same purpose in which means are provided for directing jets of the liquid forcibly toward the fabric to thereby cause the liquid to penetrate into its pores. In

2 my present, apparatus it provide vacuum means for drawing the liquid into the body of the fabric by suction.

ll carry out the principles of my invention by meansbt apparatus, one form of which is shown in the accompanying drawings in which-- Figure l is a general side elevation of the apparatus partly in section.

Figure 2 is an end elevation partly in to section on the line 22 Figure 1.

till

' out the several views Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective showing a portion of the toraminated vac uum element which supports the fabric as the latter travels past it.

Like numerals donate like parts through- Reiterring to the drawings, the deli; or other fabric be treated occurs in the form or? a strip 1 which is wound upon storage roll 2 or other convenient means by which the fabric may be fed to the remainder of the apparatus The substance with which the fabric is to be impregnated is contained within a tank 4. in moving towards the tanl;

till the strip passes first over a guide roller i mounted at the top of the tank. passes thence to a second guide roller 8 also located near the top or? the tank. lhe first roller is not essential and may be omitted it desired.

From the roller 8 the strip passes down and under a roller 10 located near the bottom of the tank From this the strip passes up over a guide roller 12 which is located at the top of the tank usually not far trom the roller 8. From roller 12 the strip passes out of the apparatus. A pressure roller i4 is located above the roller 12, its lune tion being to remove the surplus liquid and permit it to ow back into the tank and also to exert pressure upon the impregnated strip to cooperate with the roller 12 and between them to compact and consolidate the strip and its impregnating substance. it will be understood that means are provided for causing the strip to travel through the aparatus but as means for this purpose are own it is not necessary to show or describe them here. 8

in producing roofing, the impregnated substance is commonly asphalt or the like which is more or less solid at ordinary room temperature. it is therefore common to provide means tor heating the tank to render the contents liquid prior to the commencement of the run; but as the heating may be accomplished in various ways and means for the purpose which are well known I have omitted them lrom the drawings.

Located within the tank are two vacuum.

elements 16. These are elon ated hollow members which in the form il ustrated are rectangular, both in vertical and horizontal cross section. One side wall 18 of each is forested and they are located one above the other in the tank and oldest in such manner that the external surt'aoe of one of the no walls lies approximately in the some vertical plane as the external surface at the zloraminated wall of the other unit. it is. desirable to additionally odset" the vacuum elements to provide for the s 1: n u thrcmess or the fabric, although the orraugeinent may somewhat varied without departing from thespirit of the invention.

These vacuum units are so located with respect to the guide roller 8 that the strip passes down irons it and thence first across the foraminated face one of the units and then across. the IEorarninated face oil the other. i

Leading from the top out each vacuum element it are pipes 29 which may occur in the iornroi various branches as indicated, these branches finally uniting in a duct 22 which leads to the intake of centrifugal pump 2% located above the apparatus as il-= too Mid

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lustrated in Figures 1 and 2. This pumpis driven by an electric motor 26 or other suitable type of power mechanism.

A pi e 28 pump own into the tank where it connects wlth a supply pipe 30 leadingfrom a suitable source of supply of the liquid. A valve 32 controlled by a float 34 regulates the level of the liquid'in the tank. Any suitable means, not shown, are employed for, heating the liquid as it enters the apparatus through the pipe 30 and in order that the contents of the tank may be kept agitated and the heat more or less uniformly distributed throughout the body of the liquid it is desirable to have the discharge pipe 28 connect with the supply pipe 30 near the discharge mouth of the latter. By this arrangement as the li uid is forced from the pump it merges wit the hot liquid entering from the supply pipe and the two streams entering together under pressure tend to agitate the liquid and keep it at uniform temperature.

In operation, after the impregnating substance has'been warmed sufliciently to become liquid the pump 24 is started and the strip of fabric is started through the apparatus. As the strip passes down across the foraminated face of the upper vacuum element 16 it closes olf the apertures and the result is that the pump in its effort to draw the liquid up through the pi e 20, 22 creates a partial vacuum within t e vacuum ele ment, and as the strip is more or less porous a certain amount of the liquid is drawn into the body of the strip, depending upon the of porosity of the strip, the viscosity of the liquid and the amount of vacuum within the unit. From the u per vacuum unit the stri then passes to t e lower one where the direction is reversed and the liquid is drawn into the body of the strip from the opposite side. Thus both surfaces of the strip are acted upon and penetrated by the liquid, after which the strip passes out of the machine.

As a result of the operation of this apparatus a heavy percentage of liquid is introduced into the body of the strip in a ver short period of time and by a machine which is very com act compared to the type of apparatus in W ich no force is employed for combinin the liquid'and the fabric and the strip nee s to pass around a large number of 'de rollers. I

It Wlll be observed that my. apparatus is simple in construction and that't ere are no moving parts except the guide rollers and pump. Thus the apparatus is not likely to get out of order.

degree leads from the discharge of the means Having thus described my invention what I'clalm as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for impregnating felt and the likehaving a tank for the liquid, means for-passing a strip of the fabric down into the tank and up out of it, a vacuum element located within the tank, and having a foraminated surface across which the fabric travels, and means for creating suction on -the inside of the vacuum element, the vacuum element being stationary and the strip passing across it whereby the strip is subjected both to a rubbing and a sucking action while submerged.

2. Apparatus for impregnating fabric in cluding a liquid bath, means for passing the strip of the fabric through the bath, a hollow, vacuum element immersed within the bath, said vacuum element having a foraminated surfaceacross which the fabric travels, and a suction pump connected to the inside of the vacuum element for drawing from it the contents thereof, the vacuum element bein stationary and the strip passing across it w ereby the strip is subjected both to a rubbing and a sucking action while submerged.

.3. Apparatus for impregnating fabric including a'liquid bath, means for passing a strip of the fabric through the bath, a vacuum element immersed within the bath, said vacuum element having an apertured surface across which the fabric travels, a suction pump connected'to the inside of the vacuum element for drawing from it the contents thereof, and a discharge duct leading from said pump back to the bath whereby continuous circulation is efi'ected, the vacuum element being stationary and the stri passing across it whereby the strip is SllbJBOtGd both to a rubbing and a sucking action while submerged.

- 4. Apparatus for im regnating felt and the like, having a tan for the liquid, n vacuum element located in the tank below the liquid level and having its acting surface foraminated, a second vacuum element also having a foraminated acting surface and being located in the tank beyond the first one whereby the strip passes across the vacuum element successively, and means for guiding the strip across the acting faces of the vacuum units successively, the acting units being located on'opposite sides of the strip, whereby the suction is first in one direction through the strip and then in the opposite direction.-

11 witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

1 a HENRY C. KOCH. 

